Platts - Thursday, May 18, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ UK Prime Minister pushes for new wave of nuclear plants London (Platts)--18May2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair is pushing for a new wave of nuclear plants in the UK after receiving an advanced copy May 15 of his government's energy review. "The facts are stark," he told the Confederation of British Industry at the CBI's annual dinner in London last night. By 2025, if current policy remained unchanged, the UK will have dramatically failed to meet its carbon dioxide emission reduction targets and will be 90% dependent on foreign gas imports, mostly from the Middle East, Africa and Russia, he said. The replacement of Britain's nuclear power stations is "back on the agenda with a vengeance," he said. For similar stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ Most of DOE nuclear programs to be fully funded in FY-07 bill Washington (Platts)--17May2006 Most of the Department of Energy's nuclear energy programs would be fully funded under the FY 2007 energy and water funding bill that the House Appropriations Committee approved Wednesday. DOE's Nuclear Power 2010 program, aimed at the near-term deployment of advanced power reactors, would receive roughly $54 million, same as the budget request. Funding for work on next-generation reactor designs as part of the Generation IV program would match the budget request at $31.4 million. The bill report earmarked $4 million of that allocation for fuel development. It also told DOE that the committee expects future Gen IV planning to be coordinated with DOE's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program, which is aimed in part at closing the nuclear fuel cycle in the US and abroad. DOE's nuclear hydrogen initiative would receive $18.6 million, same as the budget request. DOE's fusion energy programs, including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, would be funded at $319.9 million under the bill. Lawmakers used the bill report to express their satisfaction with the fact that DOE "finally requested sufficient funding for the US participation in the [ITER] project without doing so at the expense of the domestic fusion research activities or at the expense of other office of science programs." DOE also would have to initiate the process of selecting and licensing one or more interim storage sites under the funding bill. It would fully fund the DOE waste program at the department's $544.5 million request and would provide an additional $30 million, which would not be taken from the Nuclear Waste Fund, for interim storage of utility spent fuel separate from any storage provided by DOE's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program. The bill report said this storage facility or facilities could be sited at DOE or other federal or private sites. It also indicated that lawmakers want to see regional storage facilities and added that "if regional consolidation is not feasible, the department should then explore consolidation of spent fuel within states with high volumes of spent fuel." ---Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com For similar news, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://nucweek.platts.com. ------------ Peformance problems continue at Perry, Point Beach nukes: US NRC Washington (Platts)--16May2006 FirstEnergy's Perry nuclear plant in Ohio and Wisconsin Electric Power's Point Beach nuclear unit in Wisconsin continued to show significant performance problems last year, senior managers with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday. The agency officials, however, reported that performance at FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse plant, which had been under increased NRC oversight since April 2002, has been operating under a more normal agency review process since July 2005. NRC commissioners were briefed at the annual agency action review meeting, which includes an overview of the performance of operating reactors and fuel cycle and other materials licensees, industry trends, and the effectiveness of NRC's oversight process. While three licensees were discussed at last year's meeting, none had performance that reached the threshold for discussion this year, said Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Director Jack Strosnider. Noting that Point Beach's performance has been discussed for four consecutive years, Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield said he believed that top executives of plants "languishing" in Column 4 -- those with significant performance problems -- should have to come before the commission. Nuclear Management Co operates Point Beach and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating runs Perry. ---Jenny Weil, jenny_weil@platts.com For similar news, take a trial to Inside NRC at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ US won't use Yucca Mountain to store unrecycled waste: Domenici Washington (Platts)--16May2006 The United States will not store unrecycled spent nuclear fuel at the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada, repository and must instead work to develop recycling and interim storage plans, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici said Tuesday. Speaking at a hearing on Yucca Mountain legislation, the New Mexico Republican said it would be difficult to craft a bill addressing problems that will take so long to solve. But he said reprocessing and interim storage programs will have to be in place before the Nevada repository is opened, and estimated that it could take the country 25 years to develop the programs. The senator said a short-term solution is to leave the waste at reactor sites, where it is currently stored. "We are not going to be putting the spent fuel rods in Yucca Mountain to me it is quite obvious," Domenici said. "We are kind of kidding ourselves but we don't want to give up" on building the repository. Domenici, who is developing his own legislation after introducing earlier this year an administration proposal at the White House's request, said Nevada will likely not object to Yucca Mountain after the waste has been recycled. He said the administration's bill falls short because it doesn't present a complete solution to the nuclear waste problem. "Confusion is rampant, time frames are all out of whack and the administration's bill has a big vacuum in it because it does not address interim storage," Domenici said. He added that the licensing process envisioned by the Department of Energy in the administration bill "may not be relevant" because of the different characteristics of waste that would be stored there once waste is recycled. ---Dan Whitten, daniel_whitten@platts.com For similar news, take a trial to Platts Inside Energy at http://insideenergy.platts.com. ------------ Public enquiry into Flamanville-3 EPR build to start in spring London (Platts)--16May2006 The public enquiry into construction of an EPR at Flamanville-3 will start this spring, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said today. He said he had "decided to pursue the procedure" of building a "new-generation reactor, EPR," at Flamanville, following conclusion of the "great national debate" on the subject. "I ask the prefect of the Manche departement (county) to launch the public inquiry before the summer," he said. By law, a public inquiry, conducted locally around a project site, lasts up to six weeks, with an additional month for the inquiry commission to prepare and submit its report. Calling the Flamanville reactor "essential for our country's energy future," the prime minister said the project would also benefit from legislation on nuclear safety and on nuclear waste management, now under advanced consideration in parliament. De Villepin said he would visit the construction site of the world's first EPR, Olkiluoto in Finland, but didn't say when. For similar stories, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ ------------ US uranium production up 18% in 2005 Washington (Platts)--15May2006 US uranium production increased to 2.7 million pounds U3O8 in 2005, an 18% increase over the 2.3 million lb produced in 2004, according to data collected by DOE's Energy Information Administration. EIA also noted that employment in the uranium production industry increased by 52% in 2005 to 638 person-years, from 420 person-years in 2004. Total uranium industry expenditures for drilling, production, land, and other purposes were an estimated $134 million in 2005, 54% more than in 2004, EIA said. ------------